Our Darkest Hour Car Ride
by fanatic218
Summary: Set in Our Darkest Hour when Hotch and Emily are stuck in traffic when the power goes out. Just friendship - no romance. Sorry! Short but sweet. One-shot.


_A/N~ My take on what happened with Hotch and Prentiss in the car ride to meet Morgan at the end of 'Our Darkest Hour'. Just friendship; no romance – trying to make this somewhat realistic. This is real;y short, but the thought just came into my head and I liked the idea, so here ya go!_

"Crap, the phone lines are dead," Emily stated after trying to call Reid back again.

"And it doesn't look like traffic is moving at all, so I guess we're stuck here for a while," Hotch said leaning back in his seat. Emily sighed and did the same.

"Well this sucks," she stated again after a moment of silence.

"What? Being stuck in a car with me?" Hotch said half-joking, half-serious. Was he that bad that even Emily Prentiss, one of the most easy-going people on the team didn't want to be around him?

"No, not being able to do anything. Our UNSUB got out of here before the traffic hot and the power went off. Every minute we spend here is another minute he gets further away. And all we can do is sit in this car and sweat to death. It's not because I don't want to be with you," she added softly. She always had a way of reading his mind.

Hotch sighed. "Yeah I feel the same way. Not being able to do anything is bad enough, but not knowing what is going on is even worse."

"Well hey, I guess it could be worse. I could be Reid," she said with a half-smile. Hotch closed his eyes and groaned, resting his head back against the head rest. Reid had read a book about ancient Chinese dynasties and had been talking nonstop about all the information he had learned in the ten minutes it took him to read the thick text book. Reid was loved by all, but he seriously needed a mute button sometimes.

They fell into silence again. It wasn't awkward, but Emily wanted something to talk about. Who knew how long they were going to sit there stuck in traffic.

"Tell me about Jack," she said suddenly. Ironically, that was who Hotch had been thinking about. And he loved talking about his son. He didn't exactly socialize with anyone outside of the team other than Jessica, his brother, and a few parents of kids in Jack's class. He smiled an actual smile – one that Emily had not seen in a long time – as he started telling her about his son.

"He just started pre-kindergarten at a school closer to my apartment. He's already made a couple friends, which is a really good thing except for when there are five four year old running around the small apartment. It's worth it to see Jack happy though," Hotch finished, smiling a little bit to himself. Emily was smiling too.

"He sounds like such a sweet kid," Emily said smiling at Hotch.

"He really is. I'm so lucky to have him in my life." Hotch paused for a moment, deep in thought, and then he started to laugh. Emily smiled. It was a sound no one had really heard in a long time.

"What?" she asked still smiling.

"Last week I woke up to some clinking in my bathroom, and when I walked in, Jack was standing on a stool looking in the mirror with my robe over his shoulders and putting aftershave on his face like I do." Both Hotch and Emily started laughing.

"That is too cute! He wants to be just like his father," Emily mused. That was really adorable. When she looked back at Hotch, he had a troubled look on his face. Where did that come from? He was laughing ten seconds ago. "Hotch?"

"Is that a good thing? For him to be like me? I mean, I'm incredibly messed up Emily. I don't want Jack to not laugh, or be so serious like I am. Is this a good thing?" he asked again.

Emily shifted in her chair to look Hotch in the eyes. "Hotch, look at me." He reluctantly met her eyes. His face was emotionless, but his eyes shone with worry. "Jack couldn't be more lucky to have a father like you who loves him as much as you do. You are making the world a better and safer place for him every time you leave to catch the bad guys, and he looks up to you and respects you so much for that. You're his hero Hotch. And as for Jack picking a role model, he couldn't have picked one better than his father. He'll learn to be caring, self-less, gentle, and passionate. You'll teach him to never give in, to never back down, and to never give up. And that, Hotch, is the best thing a father can do for his son."

Hotch's eyes started to water. He knew that she meant every word. A new level of friendship had just developed between the two of them. Taking a moment as to not let it show how thick his voice was, he nodded before thanking her.

"Anytime Hotch. Anytime."


End file.
